A History of the
Byzantine State and Society

Spanning twelve centuries and three continents, the Byzantine Empire linked the ancient and modern worlds, shaping and transmitting Greek, Roman, and Christian theology that remain vigorous today, not only in Eastern Europe and the MIddle East but throughout Western civilization. Though in its politics Byzantium often resembled a third world dictatorship, it has never yet been matched in maintaining a single state for so long, over a wide area inhabited by heterogeneous peoples.